1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of automotive impact protection systems and in particular to a containment impact protection system.
2. Background Art
The safety of the occupants of an automotive vehicle involved in a crash or rollover is of prime concern to the automobile industry. Safety protection systems have steadily improved over the years. Initially, seat belts were incorporated into the vehicles to secure the occupants to the seat in the event of an accident. Currently all automotive vehicles are now equipped with seat belts. Next, single shoulder belts were incorporated into the seat belt systems. Subsequently, front air bags were incorporated into the steering wheel housing and dashboard to further protect occupants in head on collisions. Currently, inflatable side air bags are being developed to protect the occupants from side impacts or subsequent events such as rollovers. Typical examples of such side air bags are taught by James Lloyd Webber, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,481 and by Mynor Castro in published European Patent Application EP0896909A2.
It is desirable to incorporate into the vehicle an impact protection system which is designed to protect the occupants from injury resulting from impact against structural members of the vehicle and to contain the occupants within the vehicle in the event of a second event or a rollover.
A containment impact protection system is provided for use in an automotive vehicle to protect the occupants in the vehicle from side impacts and subsequent events such as rollovers. The protection system has a deployable barrier panel which substantially covers one or more of the side windows of the vehicle. An inflatable tube member is slidably attached to the barrier panel at a location approximately halfway between the top and bottom of the window. A tensioning device is attachable to structural members of the vehicle on opposite sides of the windows. The tensioning device is responsive to the rapid inflation of the inflatable tube member to produce a force which deploys the barrier panel from the stored location to the deployed state, and in cooperation with the barrier panel provides for the containment of the occupant within the vehicle as the result of an impact or rollover.
An inflatable cushion is provided longitudinally below the inflatable tube member and covers the lower portion of the window between the inflatable tube member and the bottom of the barrier panel. The inflatable cushion inhibits contact of the occupant""s head with a component of the vehicle, such as the window. The location of the inflatable cushion below the inflatable tube member provides protection for small occupants. An inflator responsive to a side impact or rollover produces a gas flow rapidly inflating the inflatable tube member and the inflatable cushion.
The object of the containment impact protection system is an improved mechanism for the containment of the occupant of a vehicle in the event of a side impact or rollover event.
Another object of the improved containment impact protection system is to provide inflatable cushions at locations preventing the engagement of the occupant""s head with rigid structural members of the vehicle.
Still another object of the improved impact protection system is to provide inflatable cushions at locations which are effective for protecting smaller occupants.
Another object of the invention is to provide the inflatable tube member and tensioning device about halfway between the top and bottom of the windows to provide improved containment of the occupants during a rollover.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from a reading of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction with the drawings.